Islamic Sharia Laws (01 Mar 2017 NewAgeIslam.Com)

Does Islam Allow Death Penalty For Blasphemy?

By Zia Ur Rahman

28-Feb-17

Murderer of former
Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011 and hanged for his heinous crime, Mumtaz
Qadri, has become one of the major topics of discussion in Pakistan. The
religious extremist groups or fundamentalists consider him a ‘hero of Islam’
while for the rest of Pakistanis, his maliciously cruel act of killing a human
being was completely insane and nasty.

Taseer was murdered by
Qadri just because he expressed his opinion about the country’s ‘so-called’
blasphemy laws. Taseer’s statement about the need to reform blasphemy laws
became Mumtaz Qadri’s reason to murder the former governor. The constitution of
Pakistan gives freedom of expression right to the citizens but it seems that,
in Pakistan, the laws are usually made just to ensure that we are an
independent nation. Nothing is practicable here when it comes to the religious
school of thoughts.

Is Qadri really a
hero? Is this right to declare a person your ‘hero’ who has unlawfully killed a
man? Usually people do not like to indulge themselves in debates that have some
religious aspects, being afraid of unexpected consequences, but today I want to
highlight where we are headed when it comes to the question of religion.

There is no Surah or
Hadith which says that the convict of blasphemy should be sentenced to death.
Then why has Pakistan, established in the name of Islam, knead some
self-originated blasphemy laws in its constitution (295-C that say: use of
derogatory remarks etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet(SAW): – who ever by
words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any
imputation innuendo, or insinuation, directly, defiles the sacred name of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for
life and shall also be liable for fine”.

From 1986 to 2010,
1274 cases of blasphemy have been registered in Pakistan. Whatever Qadri did to
Taseer was a clear indication of his religious school of thought. He did not
feel the need to ask any religious scholar or preacher of Islam about what was
going on in his mind before he murdered the later. I could not forget what his
brother said when he met Qadri the last time before he was hanged. According to
his brother, Qadri just said, “I have no regrets. God is great.”

According to extremist
religious circles, Qadri’s satisfaction about what he did to Salman Taseer was
due to his right decision being a Muslim. Qadri just thought that it was his
religious duty to kill Taseer for uttering impious about the Islamic laws
without paying a heed to the reality he was going to kill another human being.

TOTAL COMMENTS:- &nbsp 3

In fact no penalty is mentioned in Quran or hadith for such a crime like blasphemy, It is only prevailing interpretation of Islam which is ruling the roost not the Quran and Hadith,so all blame goes to this wrong interpretation shared by all hues and colors of Muslims and that is why rethinking in Islam is a must. By Mohammad Ghitreef - 3/2/2017 5:48:33 AM

"There is no Surah or Hadith which says that the convict of blasphemy should be sentenced to death."

Such laws must be abolished. In fact all Sharia laws must be declared obsolete.

By Ghulam Mohiyuddin - 3/1/2017 12:22:17 PM

whatever islam allows for blasphemy, muslims advocate punishment - including death. all muslims? perhaps not. but most according to pew surveys - in egypt, pakistan, indonesia and malaysia for starters. others can be cited. By hats off! - 3/1/2017 6:34:51 AM

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